ESLaPorte
2003-08-29 20:08:16 UTC
While the United States Army may have dealt me a major setback in my life's
ambitions to serve NATO and the Atlantic Alliance, it is by no means a moral
blow. While I have not been "officilally awarded" the NATO medal - I DO
wear the one inch NATO medal on a solid-gold chain. My wearing of the NATO
medal and ribbon is a statement of my current and future ambitions, as well
and my current service to the Alliance. No, I am not a soldier deployed in
Bosnia or Kosovo or Afghanistan, nor am I "serving" at SHAPE, but I am
serving my beloved NATO Alliance and my service to the Alliance is many
faceted, more meaningful and productive. For me, my wearing of both the NATO
medal and ribbon are very special symbols that mark my commitment to the
North Atlantic Alliance.
As the common notion goes, to serve the NATO Alliance one needs to enlist in
the military of a his NATO member country, don a uniform in the "service of
his country" and perhaps go stand and guard on a bridge in Kosovska
Mitrovica for six months (or chasing phantom war criminals across Bosnia and
twitting thumbs in Kabul). Nope - wrongo - not even maybe! Granted, it is
much easier, quicker and considered of "greater value" to "serve NATO" as a
soldier in involved NATO activities. However, it is not nearly as meaningful
and productive to be a "NATO soldier." And the United States Army had done
everything in its power to keep me from even being to do the miniscule and
overly valued act of standing guard on a bridge in Kosovska Mitrovica, (as
well as to thwart my educational efforts and career development in the
Euro-Atlantic security field). Standing guard on a bridge in Kosovska
Mitrovica may be considered of greater value than researching, writing and
teaching others about the Atlantic Community and NATO - but in reality it
is actually of less value to the NATO Alliance!
Of greater value to the NATO Alliance than a military deployment to Bosnia,
Kosovo or now Afghanistan (denied to me by the Army) is the work that I am
especially going to be involved in this fall. Besides my work on NATO
peacekeeping (and how to helpfully improve it- especially for SFOR), I will
be joining work with an Euro-Atlantic association in the long process of
retracing NATO and the Atlantic Alliance's "institutional memory." My
work over the Internet, on The NATO Citizen website, is being used as a
teaching tool and reference source for other students and scholars. (I have
been told this through e-mails from professors.) Already, the past work has
been fruitful and we are discovering the quiescent Atlantic Alliance, as
well as teaching it. There are other small ways I serve the interests of
the Alliance, but in an academic fashion is the most dominate.
I also plan to continue my study and work on NATO's transformation to the
post-Cold War, especially in counterterrorism. Another future project is to
study the newspaper coverage of the creation of the Atlantic Pact (North
Atlantic Treaty) which could tell us about NATO today and centers around the
date; March 18, 1949. I am leaning toward doing my Master's work in NATO and
counterterrorism, but I am also interested in NATO peacekeeping and
consultation process. I have a busy fall coming, as I am going to be finally
able to push for graduate school and be an "official" grad student, rather
than a "special" grad student who is relegated to "background" courses.
After I become an "official" grad student, my studies and service to the
NATO Alliance will only accelerate and deepen. I intend to be up there
someday with Ron Asmus, Marc Grossman and Bruce Jackson, despite being a
woman, and the terse and unjust treatment I received in Army will be a
distant and insignificant memory. . .
So, the citizen of a NATO country DOSE NOT need to enlist, go off and stand
guard over a bridge in Kosovo, or chase phantom war criminals across Bosnia,
or mope in Kabul while the Taliban run rampant in the Afghan country-side in
order to "serve" NATO or "earn" a NATO medal. I have earned my NATO medal
almost everyweek for the past three years and my NATO medal is more
meaningful and of greater benefit to the Alliance than six months in Kosovo
as an "official award." Serving the Alliance in this fashion has brought me
more personal satisfaction than deployments to a thousand Bosnias and
Kosovos could ever - and my work is actually of greater value to the NATO
Alliance than a million deployments to Bosnia and Kosovo. I look forward to
even giving more and greater serve to the NATO Alliance in the future !
Proudly serving - in the service of peace and freedom!
ambitions to serve NATO and the Atlantic Alliance, it is by no means a moral
blow. While I have not been "officilally awarded" the NATO medal - I DO
wear the one inch NATO medal on a solid-gold chain. My wearing of the NATO
medal and ribbon is a statement of my current and future ambitions, as well
and my current service to the Alliance. No, I am not a soldier deployed in
Bosnia or Kosovo or Afghanistan, nor am I "serving" at SHAPE, but I am
serving my beloved NATO Alliance and my service to the Alliance is many
faceted, more meaningful and productive. For me, my wearing of both the NATO
medal and ribbon are very special symbols that mark my commitment to the
North Atlantic Alliance.
As the common notion goes, to serve the NATO Alliance one needs to enlist in
the military of a his NATO member country, don a uniform in the "service of
his country" and perhaps go stand and guard on a bridge in Kosovska
Mitrovica for six months (or chasing phantom war criminals across Bosnia and
twitting thumbs in Kabul). Nope - wrongo - not even maybe! Granted, it is
much easier, quicker and considered of "greater value" to "serve NATO" as a
soldier in involved NATO activities. However, it is not nearly as meaningful
and productive to be a "NATO soldier." And the United States Army had done
everything in its power to keep me from even being to do the miniscule and
overly valued act of standing guard on a bridge in Kosovska Mitrovica, (as
well as to thwart my educational efforts and career development in the
Euro-Atlantic security field). Standing guard on a bridge in Kosovska
Mitrovica may be considered of greater value than researching, writing and
teaching others about the Atlantic Community and NATO - but in reality it
is actually of less value to the NATO Alliance!
Of greater value to the NATO Alliance than a military deployment to Bosnia,
Kosovo or now Afghanistan (denied to me by the Army) is the work that I am
especially going to be involved in this fall. Besides my work on NATO
peacekeeping (and how to helpfully improve it- especially for SFOR), I will
be joining work with an Euro-Atlantic association in the long process of
retracing NATO and the Atlantic Alliance's "institutional memory." My
work over the Internet, on The NATO Citizen website, is being used as a
teaching tool and reference source for other students and scholars. (I have
been told this through e-mails from professors.) Already, the past work has
been fruitful and we are discovering the quiescent Atlantic Alliance, as
well as teaching it. There are other small ways I serve the interests of
the Alliance, but in an academic fashion is the most dominate.
I also plan to continue my study and work on NATO's transformation to the
post-Cold War, especially in counterterrorism. Another future project is to
study the newspaper coverage of the creation of the Atlantic Pact (North
Atlantic Treaty) which could tell us about NATO today and centers around the
date; March 18, 1949. I am leaning toward doing my Master's work in NATO and
counterterrorism, but I am also interested in NATO peacekeeping and
consultation process. I have a busy fall coming, as I am going to be finally
able to push for graduate school and be an "official" grad student, rather
than a "special" grad student who is relegated to "background" courses.
After I become an "official" grad student, my studies and service to the
NATO Alliance will only accelerate and deepen. I intend to be up there
someday with Ron Asmus, Marc Grossman and Bruce Jackson, despite being a
woman, and the terse and unjust treatment I received in Army will be a
distant and insignificant memory. . .
So, the citizen of a NATO country DOSE NOT need to enlist, go off and stand
guard over a bridge in Kosovo, or chase phantom war criminals across Bosnia,
or mope in Kabul while the Taliban run rampant in the Afghan country-side in
order to "serve" NATO or "earn" a NATO medal. I have earned my NATO medal
almost everyweek for the past three years and my NATO medal is more
meaningful and of greater benefit to the Alliance than six months in Kosovo
as an "official award." Serving the Alliance in this fashion has brought me
more personal satisfaction than deployments to a thousand Bosnias and
Kosovos could ever - and my work is actually of greater value to the NATO
Alliance than a million deployments to Bosnia and Kosovo. I look forward to
even giving more and greater serve to the NATO Alliance in the future !
Proudly serving - in the service of peace and freedom!
--
Erin LaPorte
The NATO Citizen - www.pronato.com
P.O. Box 371162
Milwaukee, Wisconsin - USA
53237-2062
"In the service of peace and freedom!"
Erin LaPorte
The NATO Citizen - www.pronato.com
P.O. Box 371162
Milwaukee, Wisconsin - USA
53237-2062
"In the service of peace and freedom!"